Budweiser 9/11 Ad – Well-meaning or Opportunistic?

The ad below aired over 10 years ago, and we’re probably a more cynical and divided nation now than we were then. Just look at the comments on the YouTube video in question.

Here’s the commercial for your viewing pleasure:

Like Neo said in the Matrix, this is a problem of choice. Maybe people don’t choose how to view the world, but rather their experiences shape them. For me, I don’t look at Budweiser’s effort here and see anything untoward. I think it is sometimes possible to choose how to view the world, and I choose glass is half full. Your opinions may vary (so let’s hear ‘em below).

I think the YouTube comments have alot to do with growing cynicism and YouTube commentators being the trolliest of the trolls, but it also to do with the image of Budweiser and Anheuser-Busch in the 2000’s changing and evolving.
Pre-2000’s, we didn’t have the growing microbrewing scene that gets recognized on a national level like we do today. There was Miller, Bud, or Coors, and their sister brands. It was a three team match, there was no small local brand to get behind, and AB had yet to develop the “Evil Empire” image because it was a giant among giants. They were not the McDonalds of beer, they were just beer.

We’re also living with the ramifications of InBev. Aside from the current owners of the company, there was a time before the buyout where AB did, in a general sense, use “American Pride” as a selling point, pointing out that SABMiller was South African and Coors was Canadian at the time. It even got pretty ridiculousness towards the end.

Before all of this, the Anheuser-Busch at the time of this commercial had the credentials and the audience to do this successfully, and they did it right, which is the big reason why this ad was lauded at the time. Everyone expected a Clydestale commercial during the Super Bowl, and if I remember correctly, this was the only one they did. They could of ran this commercial over and over, but they only ran it once. And during this time, AB was a company that people not only liked, but respected. Over time that’s changed, they’ve lost some of their luster. The reaction you see on YouTube is partly due to reaction to that.